MBA (Technology Management) - Learning Outcomes

Educational aims

The Master of Business Administration (Technology Management) is a career-development, specialist programme for those who want to champion awareness of technological innovation across Europe and further afield, and who envisage the management of technology to be of growing importance. It is suited to those who have significant post-graduation and relevant work experience on which the learning process should build. The main emphasis of the programme is on leadership through strategic management. While the academic level is masters, there is a strong practical and professional orientation to the curriculum.

As an MBA (Technology Management) graduate, you should be able to ground your new knowledge within the base of your professional experience. You will be able to reflect on and learn from that experience, and thus be able to integrate new knowledge with experience and apply it to new situations. You will be able to challenge preconceptions and to remove subject and functional boundaries to handle complex situations holistically. You should also have particular strengths in analysing, synthesising and solving complex, unstructured business problems. In addition to being able to communicate your findings, you should have developed the skills to implement agreed solutions effectively and efficiently. You should therefore have strongly developed interpersonal skills and be able to interact effectively with a range of specialists.

The MBA (Technology Management) is directed at both the acquisition and critical understanding of a body of knowledge and at the acquisition of a range of personal capabilities.

Learning outcomes

The qualification provides opportunities for you to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding, qualities, skills and other attributes in the following areas: 

Knowledge and understanding

When you complete your studies for this degree you will be able to collect relevant information across a range of areas pertaining to a current situation, analyse that information and synthesise it into an appropriate form in order to evaluate decision alternatives.  With the broad framework of organisations, their external context and management, it is therefore expected that graduates will have developed knowledge and understanding in the following areas:
  • The impact of, and relationship between, a range of contextual forces relevant to the management of technology. This includes legal and regulatory systems, economic, environmental, ethical and technological issues, international developments and corporate governance.
  • Markets and customers; the development and operation of markets for resources, goods and services; expectations of customers and equivalent stakeholders, service and orientation.
  • The concepts, processes and institutions in the production and marketing of goods and/or services; the management of resources and operations.
  • The financing of the business enterprise or other forms of organisations: sources, uses and management of finance; use of accounting for managerial and financial reports applications.
  • The management and development of people within organisations: organizational theory, behaviour, industrial/employee relations, HRM, change management.
  • A broad range of theoretical, conceptual and applied material relevant to the study, application and practice of technology management (TM) and technological innovation (TI) and technology and innovation strategy (TIS) in almost all organisational, sectoral or industrial settings. Note: For the purpose of brevity from here on all three dimensions are subsumed within the TM acronym. 

Cognitive skills

When you complete your studies for this degree you will be able to demonstrate a range of cognitive and intellectual skills together with techniques specific to business and management.  They should also demonstrate relevant personal and interpersonal skills.  Specifically they should be able to:
  • think critically and creatively: manage creative processes in self and others; organize thoughts; analysis, synthesis, critical appraisal.  This includes the capability to identify assumptions, evaluate statements, research and scholarship in terms of evidence, detect false logic or reasoning, identify implicit values, define terms adequately, generalize appropriately and analyse the potential impact of TM on individuals, organisations, sectors
  • solve problems and make decisions: establish criteria, using appropriate decision techniques including identifying, formulating and solving business problems; create, identifying and evaluating options; implementing and reviewing decisions; using a range of analytical tools for supporting the TM process
  • exercise relevant personal and interactive skills including synthesising and operating a range of techniques and methods that inform on the management of design, production, operation, and improvement of technological systems

Practical and/or professional skills

When you complete your studies for this degree you will be able to:
  • select appropriate leadership style for situations 
  • set targets, motivate, monitor performance, coach and mentor, in order to continuously improve the people, activities, operations and units being managed Recognise situations in which unusual ethical matters arise; and apply ethical, societal and organisational values to situations and choices
  • conduct some research into TM and business and management issues more generally
  • learn through reflection on practice and experience.

Key skills

When you complete your studies for this degree you will be able to:
  • scan and organise data, abstracting meaning from information and sharing knowledge.
  • demonstrate numerical and quantitative and qualitative skills including the use of models relevant to TM and business situations more generally.
  • demonstrate competence in the design and application of research and the use of the skills required for analysing and communication potentially complex findings and conclusions.
  • communicate effectively: listen, negotiate, and persuade or influence others; develop oral and written communication skills using a range of media, including the preparation of business reports.
  • develop personal effectiveness: improve self-awareness and self-management; time management; develop sensitivity to diversity in people and different situations, and the ability to continue learning.
  • perform effectively within a team environment and be able to recognise and utilize individuals’ contributions in group processes; team selection, delegation, development and management.

Teaching, learning and assessment methods

As part of the MBA entry criteria you are expected to have work experience in management. However, our MBA programme will enable you to develop and demonstrate your knowledge and understanding, cognitive skills, key skills as well as practical and professional skills through a range of methods.

In particular, many of the modules expect you to work largely under your own direction and initiative and to reflect on your own performance, identify your own learning needs and to develop appropriate learning strategies. Within the compulsory modules of the MBA there are opportunities to network with students outside your tutor group and enable you to develop skills associated with working in groups and teams and collaborative learning.

Our MBA helps you to learn through a wide variety of specially written study materials, case studies, original texts, study guides and assignments and through use of multi-media materials and online activities. In particular, relevant and topical case studies allow you to engage with real-life management issues enabling you to develop appropriate analysis, evaluation and problem-solving skills.

There are also regular informal self-assessed questions which allow you to assess your own progression and understanding as you study each module within the MBA. You are also expected to participate in online forums and online tutorial events. These provide opportunities to network with fellow students and to share and discuss ideas and queries.

Your learning is supported by an allocated tutor. Your tutor is your first and main point of contact and will support your learning by answering queries on the materials and running online tutorial events and forums. They will also mark and comment on your assignments.

The tutor marked assignments (TMAs) are either formative or summative, i.e. they either do not or do count towards your module result. Preparing your assignments will enable you to evidence your skills development as well as demonstrate levels of knowledge and understanding throughout your studies. Feedback from your tutor will also help you to improve your performance in subsequent assessments. In addition to the tutor-marked assignments, modules have an end-of-module assessment which could be an examination, an assignment or an investigation-based report.

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